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Alice Wu

If Hong Kong’s Transport Department couldn’t see that road signs needed to be at eye level when it opened the Yau Ma Tei section of the Central Kowloon Bypass, it makes sense that it couldn’t anticipate the increased demand for test-free driving licences with the launch of the southbound travel scheme.
Under the scheme, drivers of Guangdong vehicles can enter via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge to either park at a designated car park – transferring to the airport for a flight or to local transport into Hong Kong – or drive straight into the urban areas. Quotas have been set to ensure enough parking and prevent the swamping of our already congested roads.
Applicants have to go through a complex process to satisfy the requirements of mainland and Hong Kong departments, which include vehicle inspections, third-party risk insurance and a valid Hong Kong driving licence. Naturally, applications for test-free driving licences for Hong Kong have gone up.
The Transport Department didn’t quite anticipate this, for reasons that befuddle us. Official statistics show demand for test-free licences has increased significantly: from 27,000 in 2021 to over 84,000 last year.
The abuse of the queuing system is a known problem. The department had rolled out stricter identification requirements last August to combat queuing gangs. But a fully upgraded online application system that extends counter services for test-free licences to all four licensing offices in Hong Kong is still not available.
With the recent increased demand, the Admiralty licensing office – the only licensing office handling test-free licence applications now – found itself dealing with overnight queues for its 140 same-day application tickets. Such walk-in applications have now been cancelled to further deter the queuing syndicates.


I almost wish the government would consult these savvy operators so it understands how its policies translate on the streets and how these scalpers profit.
We saw people queuing for hours in the cold – whether for licences for themselves or to earn money by standing in line for others – holding or hoarding spots through the night. How long did it take our officials to act? It is an embarrassment – this is after all a service that, given official data, the government had to know was popular.
We can only hope that the online upgrade can be completed soon. Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan has asked her team to make sure that by March, the enhancements will be launched and licences can be obtained from all four centres instead of just the one in Admiralty.
At the heart of the current administration’s reforms must be attention to these kinds of details. Digitalisation that streamlines processes for the government but leaves residents in the cold is almost unforgivable given our claim to be a tech innovation hub.
For a city that prides itself on mainland integration and its role in the Greater Bay Area, we aren’t doing better when it comes to simple applications like this. Our borders are efficient, handling an enormous number of travellers, yet for something as simple as driving licences, we can’t get it to work without asking people to undergo difficult processes that technology can make easier and more convenient.


Fostering cooperation through technological innovation, connectivity and market integration requires attention to detail, so that something as simple as applications for cross-border vehicles can be made easy.
As we launch the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park in the Hetao cooperation zone and begin construction to physically connect Shenzhen and Hong Kong, we must not neglect the details, the nuts and bolts of policies already in place. The government secures a travel scheme aimed at attracting high spenders but leaves it obstructively difficult to apply for test-free driving licences. This is incompetence.
It is time to translate the slogans of interconnectivity, innovation and technology into real experiences for the people. That is where we will need the utmost effort to be put in – in reforms to tear down the silos our government operates in. We cannot have the chief executive chair and coordinate these efforts like for the Northern Metropolis.
The culture that dictates how public servants perceive their job must be changed. Let the images of long queues for government services, their belongings holding their places outside government offices, be a constant reminder for the authorities to do better.
Reform that cares not for the people is meaningless and reckless. The bad news is I’m sure this issue does not plague only the Transport Department.


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The story begins …

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Hong Kong society

Hong Kong’s driving licence bottlenecks undermine its car travel scheme

People queue overnight for test-free driving licence applications outside the Transport Department’s licensing office at United Centre, Admiralty, on January 7. Photo: Sam Tsang

Hong Kong working to stay in the fast lane to better connectivity

An aerial view of the Yau Ma Tei section of the Central Kowloon Bypass on December 21. Photo: Eugene Lee

Hong Kong’s lack of direction goes beyond road signs

Vehicles navigate the Yau Ma Tei section of the Central Kowloon Bypass during its first day of operation on December 22. Photo: Karma Lo

Hong Kong firms hoping new southbound travel scheme will drive more business

Scheme applicants must obtain Hong Kong driving licences and complete local licensing formalities. Photo:  Eugene Lee

Drivers must use the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge. Photo: Nora Tam

Opinion

Hong Kong Opinion

News

Hong Kong

Hong Kong Economy

Politics

Society

Transport

Overnight queues and a complicated application system open to abuse expose gaps between Hong Kong’s policy ambition and execution


Overnight queues and a complicated application system open to abuse expose gaps between Hong Kong’s policy ambition and execution.


The Transport Department (HK)

Transport and Logistics Bureau (HK)

Hong Kong transport

John Lee

Mable Chan

Shenzhen

Greater Bay Area

Macau

Zhuhai

Grenada

Hong Kong Highways Department

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Hong Kong’s driving licence bottlenecks undermine its car travel scheme

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Overnight queues and a complicated application system open to abuse expose gaps between Hong Kong’s policy ambition and execution

Overnight queues and a complicated application system open to abuse expose gaps between Hong Kong’s policy ambition and execution